Galactic and Magellanic Evolution with the SKA

TL;DR

This paper discusses how the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will revolutionize our understanding of galaxy evolution by enabling detailed observations of atomic hydrogen in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds, revealing gas processes from halos to star formation.

Contribution

It highlights the potential of SKA to provide unprecedented sensitivity and resolution for studying gas dynamics and star formation in nearby galaxies, advancing galaxy evolution theories.

Findings

Enhanced understanding of gas accretion and exchange in galaxies

Detailed mapping of atomic hydrogen in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds

Insights into the formation of molecular clouds and stars

Abstract

As we strive to understand how galaxies evolve it is crucial that we resolve physical processes and test emerging theories in nearby systems that we can observe in great detail. Our own Galaxy, the Milky Way, and the nearby Magellanic Clouds provide unique windows into the evolution of galaxies, each with its own metallicity and star formation rate. These laboratories allow us to study with more detail than anywhere else in the Universe how galaxies acquire fresh gas to fuel their continuing star formation, how they exchange gas with the surrounding intergalactic medium, and turn warm, diffuse gas into molecular clouds and ultimately stars. The $\lambda$21-cm line of atomic hydrogen (HI) is an excellent tracer of these physical processes. With the SKA we will finally have the combination of surface brightness sensitivity, point source sensitivity and angular resolution to transform our understanding of the evolution of gas in the Milky Way, all the way from the halo down to the formation of individual molecular clouds.